The Mistakes Of Misfits
Chapter 26: Kasious

      We woke up long before the sun rose so we could prepare. I must have sharpened my blade three or four times out of pure anxiety filled need to do something. I paced through the armory, mentally preparing myself for the morning ahead. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready! I felt my breaths grow more laybored and I grasped my chest.

      This day was ten years coming, I couldn't be a coward now. I needed to get my shit together. He was a monster, he needed to be stopped. Why did the fact I needed to kill him still hurt so much?

      My thoughts were interrupted by the click of the door opening. I spun to see Sumi's large frame walk through the opening. “You alright?” She asked a noticeable amount of worry coating her words. “You've been in here for almost an hour.” She leaned against the doorway as if I would try to escape this talk.

       I shrugged. “I was just preparing my weapons.” I said coolly. It was a lie of course but I couldn't let any of them see my weakness. Sumi didn't seem convinced by my lie.

     She pursed her lips. “You need to have a clear head if we're going to win this. Something's clearly wrong with you.” She observed. I gritted my teeth and tried to make my face as hard as possible.

      “I'm fine Sumi, let's just get moving.” I attempted to walk through the door but the massive orc did not move out of my path. “You gonna get out of my way?” I asked her.

       Sumi raised an eyebrow. “Are you gonna tell me what's really going on with you?” She countered. She crossed her massive arms and waited expectantly. Gods damn her. Gods damn her and her protective instincts.

      I looked up at her bright violet eyes and shrugged. “I'm perfectly fine, Sumi.” I told her. “We have way more important things to do.” I again tried to make for the exit but the orc stood perfectly still.

      Sumi sighed. “Nothing is more important than keeping you all safe.” She put her hand back and shut the door behind her. “It's the revolution isn't it?” She asked. She took a step toward me, cautiously like she was approaching a wild animal.

     I gritted my teeth and took a step back. “You have no idea what you're talking about.” I said, a bit of anger starting to boil up. I made my way back to my sword but Sumi followed me.

       “The revolution has to weigh heavy on your head, everyone expects so much from you… especially if you have to duel the king.” Her voice was soft and understanding but I didn't care. My heart beat faster as a panic attack threatened to consume me.

      I looked up at Sumi, my gaze coated with warning and rage. “You need to stop fucking talking.” I couldn't control the rising panic and anger. I didn't want to face it, I couldn't face it. I had to kill him. The man who raised me, the king who once loved his people and trained me to fight.

       Sumi's steps didn't falter. “You can't hide from it, Kasious. Take it from me, you need to face this now instead of out there on the battlefield.” She put a hand on my shoulder but I pushed it off. Sumi hesitated for a moment. “Kass, I'm trying to help you.” She tried to put a hand on me but I pushed her back.

        She was pushed back a step from the force of my push. “Stop! You don't understand!” I screamed. I could hear my heartbeat in my head, I could feel my hands shake.

        Sumi's mouth became a straight line and she stood perfectly still as she assessed me. “What don't I understand, Kass? Let me help you.” I didn't need her help. I didn't need anyone's help… I felt my legs shake as I met her eyes again.

       “I… I can't do it, Sumi. Every time I think about our mission I remember training with him in our castle. I remember sitting around the fire with him and my mother. He was a good man once. I can't…”

    My legs threatened to give out but Sumi grabbed me by the shoulders. “Kass…” She pulled me in and wrapped her arms around me. “I understand. I know the weight of the world is on his shoulders. We're here for you, and we understand.” I couldn't believe it. No one could understand what was going through.

    “How could you?” I muttered. “How could you understand?” I had trained ten fucking years for this and look at me, I was pathetic. Even if I did have the will to kill my father, I wasn't sure I could actually take him in a duel.

      Sumi squeezed me a bit tighter. “I might be the only one who does.” She muttered. “I am the daughter of stone. Daughter of chief Vivek Ravenguard. I know the weight of royalty.” My eyes widened. She was the heir to the entire Roven tribe. She brought her body back a bit and met my eyes. “I can't imagine how hard this must be… but I do understand the weight you feel.”

     I nodded my head, feeling a tear run down my cheek. “I trained so long for this but I feel like I'm still not ready.” I hung my head a bit but Sumi put one hand under my chin.

     “I know there are plenty of people you have to kill that you don't want to, but there are so many more who you're going to save. There's an army's worth of innocent people out there, ready to fight against tyranny and they need their prince.” Sumi gave me a knowing nod. She didn't push me, she waited expectantly for my answer.

     I nodded as I stood up. I grabbed my blade and gave it a once over. I felt my spirit return a bit. Sumi was right. I had people who needed me. They needed me, my city needed me, Varrin in his cell needed me. I gripped the blade and did a small flourish. I let a smile cross my face for the first time in days. “Let's go save this fucking city.” I told her with a newfound confidence. Sumi simply nodded and walked to the door.

     She opened the wooden door and held it open for me. She didn't say a word but the nod she gave me filled me with hope. I strode out the door ready to save my city.

     The army that had formed outside the castle was bigger than I ever could have imagined.  The streets filled with civilians carrying crude weapons and armor. Most of the Templars and trained soldiers made up the front lines with the lesser trained revolutionaries fighting behind to fill in the gaps where the templars failed. The cultists hadn't made a move against us yet. They stayed safely in their little castle.

     My friends stood with the revolution's leaders at the front of the army. Kerrigan gave me a small nod and a smile. He clearly saw the change in my demeanor. I patted his shoulder in response. I walked past each of them, taking in my friends just in case this was the last day I saw them. I eventually made my way to Marline. “How are we looking?” I asked. To me this army was massive, but only they really knew what we were facing.

     Marline looked at the army Then looked at the revolution's leaders who were all clad in Templar armor, except for Calorina who wore a set of leather armor very similar to the garb of Fennik. “We're ready, whether we're enough or not is yet to be seen.” She gave me a small bow. “I believe the troops could use some encouragement.”

     I steeled my face and nodded. They wanted a speech, something to set their hearts on fire and prepare them for the battle ahead. “I'll see what I can do.” I muttered to her. I took one long pace along the front of the army, choosing my words carefully. I racked my brain for the right words. I realized though, I couldn't speak any of those words that came from my mind. The people wouldn't care. This one had to come from the heart.

      I let out a deep breath. “There was a time when this city was lively and bright. A time when I ran through the streets with my friends without a worry in the world. The king used to love that idea. He used to love this city…” I stopped for a moment and readied myself. I could feel the electric anticipation from every person in the crowd. “That has changed. The king we all knew is gone, corrupted by the influence of the cult!”

       I moved to my left and stood directly in front of the gates. “The king has stood by and let the cult reign. He clearly does not care about this city but we do! You do! It is time we took the reins, it is time we fight!” I raised my sword and a wave of cheers followed. I basked in the moment taking in the battle cries of my people. I lowered my sword and looked into the crowd.

     So many faces. Some old, some young, some looked like they had been warriors their whole life and some looked like they didn't know how to wield their blades. They all had one thing in common. They had a fire burning in their eyes that no king and no cult could ever put out. I nodded to them. “I cannot promise you you'll make it back alive… but I promise you will fight for the freedom of your fellow citizens.” My breath caught for a moment as a fire burnt in my chest. “I don't know about you, I feel like that's definitely worth dying for.” I let my words sit with the crowd and I could almost feel the electric anticipation in the air. I pointed my blade toward the castle. “Now who's with me?!”

      The entire army let out a roar that shook the ground we stood on. I couldn't help but smile. “For Durik!” I screamed. Fennik shot a blast from his position and shot out the chain to the drawbridge. As the bridge fell to meet us my friends joined my side.

      Kerrigan put a hand on my shoulder. I looked back at that handsome face and he smiled, a rare sight for the half-orc but one I had come to love seeing. “Nice speech.” He told me.

        I shrugged. “I'm a prince, it comes naturally.” I said with a cocky grin. “You'll have to tell me how awesome I am later. That earned an even wider smile from Kerrigan and a chuckle out of Otah.

     I heard Marline's voice pipe up as she approached us. “Follow your prince! Today we liberate this city! Today we die with honor!" That of course got another loud cheer out of the army. With that I led the army into the castle.

      There was a small legion of cultists waiting on the other side of the drawbridge. They held different spells, ready to fire at us. “Shields!” I ordered. Suddenly templars carrying massive great shields stepped to the front of the army. As spells flew the great shields were able to support the impact. I smirked. “Archers!” I ordered again and archers soon moved behind the shields and took small shots between the different attacks.

      Soon enough we reached a position close enough where we could break. I took one more breath as I readied myself. Time seemed to slow and the brief millisecond before I spoke felt like an eternity but somehow it still wasn't long enough. “Charge!” I screamed. My legs exploded as the shields moved out of the way and the army moved forward. I led the way to the cultist's, my blade leading my charge. I skewered the first cultist I came across. I heard Sumi's battlecry and Kerrigan's familiar dance of blades. It filled me with a fire that no cultist could douse.

     We became a wall of blades and arrows. The cultists didn't seem to put up much of a fight… in fact they didn't seem to move away from us or fight tactically. I sliced into another and as I pulled off the hood I saw ashy gray skin. I realized what this was. These were all thrall's. Every single one of the first wave were Sabastian's undead thrall's. It was a tactically sound move. Send out the soldiers who couldn't think for themselves first and save your strongest for the real battle inside the castle. It made our jobs that much easier. These cultists barely fought back. They were ordered and couldn't think outside of those words.

      We cut them down. We received a few injuries, including a nasty burn on Kerrigan that made me pause for a moment but the priestesses were able to heal any injuries we obtained. Soon enough the army was taken down and the castle was inches away from my grasp. A bit of fear entered my bloodstream, remnants of what ailed me this morning. I looked back at the army, at my friends. They all smiled at me, covered in blood and grime from the battle. This was right. This was right. I repeated the words in my head as I opened the door to the castle.

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